Samyang Biopharm said Monday that Genexol, its paclitaxel anticancer drug, has maintained the No. 1 seller spot in its field for two consecutive years.

Paclitaxel is a drug used for the treatment of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer.

Based on a report from IQVIA, the company’s Genexol marked the revenue of 10.3 billion won ($92.5 million) in the first half of this year. Concerning the quantity, the company sold over 55,000 vials (based on 100mg). When combined with Genexol PM, the same treatment that reduces the side effects of Genexol by using the company’s original drug delivery technology, the company’s product accounted for approximately 54 percent of the paclitaxel formulation market.

“The treatment has proved its safety and efficacy since its launch in 2001,” a company official said. “The demand for paclitaxel, which is the basis of chemotherapy, is also continuously increasing.”

The company estimates that the demand for the local paclitaxel treatment market is 200,000 vials per year.

Samyang BioPharm was the first company in the world to mass-produce paclitaxel using its plant cell culture technology developed in 1995. Since its production in 2001, it has produced about 1.8 million vials and has been supplying the drug to not only Korea but to 14 countries, including Japan and EU.

The company also exports its paclitaxel as a raw drug form to more than 30 countries, and Samyang’s manufacturing plant is the only factory in Korea to receive good manufacturing practice (GMP) certification from both the EU and Japan.

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